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CITU May Day Manifesto, 2018

ON this May Day, the Day of International Solidarity of the Working Class, CITU

Greets all working people, be they working in factories, offices, services, mines, forests, fields or waters, across the world

Expresses solidarity to all their struggles to protect their hard won rights, to improve their conditions, to defeat the attacks of imperialists-led, international finance driven neoliberal capitalist order on their lives and livelihoods, particularly in the wake of its systemic crisis globally and emancipate themselves from all exploitation

Affirms its commitment to socialism and its resolve to continue its struggle for a society free from exploitation of one human being by another; Stands in solidarity with the people of the socialist countries in their efforts to defend socialism in their countries

Defends the right of the people in all countries to democratically choose their governments without any external interference; Condemns imperialist interventions and wars in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Iraq etc and their hegemonic machinations to undermine the Left and Progressive governments in Latin America and other parts of the world; Commits to fight imperialism with all its might; Asserts that the fight against imperialism is an integral part of the class struggle against exploitation

Reiterates its solidarity with the heroic struggle of Palestinians for their home land; Demands recognition of independent sovereign state of Palestine with 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital

CITU

Notes with utmost concern the increasing inequalities under neoliberalism with the richest 1 per cent cornering more than half of global wealth produced by the sweat and blood of the toiling masses; this wealth is amassed by increasing exploitation of the working people, cronyism, evading taxes and grabbing public properties and natural resources – land, forests, mines, waters – displacing poor peasants, adivasis and others

Raises its consternation at the rise of the right wing forces, which offer no alternative to neoliberalism but seek to divide the working class and toiling people on the basis of nationalities, religion, region, race, caste, gender and other ways in many parts of the world; this phenomenon is more visible in countries where the so called social democratic and Left-leaning forces betrayed the working class by supporting neoliberal policies; Affirms that these right wing forces promoted by international finance and imperialism serve the interests of big corporates and business houses by disrupting unity of the toiling people through various means and weaken their struggle against neoliberalism; Pronounces them the enemies of the toiling people

Asserts that, in the present context, it has become imperative for capitalism, at its present state of continuously deepening crisis to promote right wing, authoritarian and barbaric forces to protect the profits of the capitalists and sustain itself in the face of the present systemic crisis; the absence of a strong socialist block has emboldened it

Expresses outrage that in the present capitalist system, the huge advances in science and technology, made with the active involvement of the people are used, not for their benefit, but to enrich a few developed countries, big corporates and business houses that seize ownership of these

Holds the capitalist system responsible for the prevalence and aggravation of unemployment, poverty, destitution, illiteracy, ill health, lack of housing and other basic necessities for the vast majority of people despite all the necessary resources to eliminate these being available today

Pledges to raise awareness among the working class about inherent exploitative nature of the capitalist system, which got fiercer, atrocious and barbaric in the background of ongoing aggravation of the crisis; Pledges to heighten the consciousness of the workers on the role of the working class in uprooting the capitalist system and to prepare it for the ultimate struggle to end all exploitation

Pronounces its determination to strengthen the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) in its efforts to unite the working class across the globe and strengthen the struggle against the exploitative capitalist system with more determined class orientation

On this May Day, CITU

Expresses serious alarm at the three pronged attacks on the working people of the country – the continuing neoliberal attacks on the working and living conditions of the people in our country by the BJP regime, the growing influence of divisive communal and casteist forces with the RSS trying to exert its authority over almost all the institutions of the government and various social institutions and rising authoritarianism; there is growing intolerance in society; people promoting rational and scientific thought are being physically attacked and killed; any dissent and opposition to the policies, views and ideology of the BJP is branded as ‘anti-national’ and being sought to be suppressed through physical attacks, abuse and threats

Records serious concern over the phenomenon of rising unemployment, joblessness and deepening gloom in industrial economy, over increasing impoverishment, agrarian crisis, rural distress and continuing farmers’ suicides, and the obscene widening of inequalities under the neoliberal order

Highlights the glaring irony as well as hypocrisy of a government, acting totally against the national interests by handing over the nation’s wealth – lands, forests, water bodies, mines and public sector undertakings including those in the strategic sector, to foreign corporations through 100 per cent FDI, talking of ‘nationalism’; the government which compromises national interests and sacrifices independent foreign policy by becoming a junior strategic partner of US imperialism claims to be upholding national pride!

Denounces the continuing onslaught on labour rights in the name of labour reforms to facilitate promote the “ease of doing business”, rather “ease of looting the people and the nation with the ultimate aim of weakening and demolishing trade unions, the organised force of the working class; reiterates its firm commitment to resist imposition of slavery on the working people and stoutly defend their rights

Condemns the attacks by BJP goons on the offices and cadres of Left parties and CITU in Tripura after the BJP came to power in the state; statues of Lenin were demolished; demands that these attacks be stopped immediately

Salutes and expresses solidarity with the working class and people of Tripura who are bravely resisting these attacks; expresses confidence that the people of Tripura will soon overcome these attacks

Strongly denounces the continuing attacks on the cadres of Left and CITU by the Trinamool goons in West Bengal, particularly in the wake of the panchayat elections; Condemns its decision to hold the panchayat elections on the May Day bulldozing all oppositions by the entire working class and democratic movement; Left cadres and leaders are being physically attacked and prevented from filing their nominations for the ensuing elections to the panchayats in the state; extends solidarity to the people resisting these heinous attacks

Expresses anger at the growing attacks on the dalits and minorities in various parts of the country, particularly in the BJP ruled states; the ideological commitment of the BJP and RSS to the retrograde and hierarchical manusmriti that seeks to suppress dalits, adivasis and women encourages such attacks; while continuing its commitment to manusmriti, the BJP is seeking to hoodwink and woo dalits only for their electoral gains

Welcomes the growing struggles by different sections of people – workers, peasants, dalits, students etc to assert their constitutional and democratic rights and resist attacks on their lives and livelihoods

On this May Day, CITU

Reiterates its conviction that the challenges confronting the working class and the toiling people in the country today necessitate three pronged struggle – the struggle against neoliberalism, against divisive communal and casteist forces and against authoritarianism

Proclaims its determination to mobilise the entire working class in the country to effectively face these challenges

It reiterates its strong determination to strengthen and widen the unity of all sections of toiling people in the platform of united struggle; this is the prerequisite for heightening the struggle for resistance to the anti-people socio-economic-political regime

Affirms its belief that that majority and minority communalism and fundamentalism thrive on each other; communalisms of whatever colours and flags divide people, disrupt their unity, divert their attention from real day-to-day issues, weaken their struggle against the real culprit – the neoliberal policies and the exploitative system; ultimately communalism serves the exploiting classes

Stresses the need for unity of the workers, poor peasants and agricultural workers to fight the neoliberal order and the capitalist system that subjects all of them to intense exploitation and resolve to work in that direction

Is determined to take up independent campaigns, initiatives to strengthen the joint trade union movement as well as united struggles of all toiling masses by placing concrete alternative policies to neoliberalism in order to achieve widest possible mobilisation of the toiling masses

Reiterates its belief that development of such massive struggles alone can lead to a comprehensive change in the correlation of class forces in favour of the working class

On this May Day 2018, CITU appeals to the working class of India to:

Strengthen unity and intensify the struggle to defeat neoliberal policies and for alternative pro-worker, pro-people policies

Be vigilant and defeat the machinations of communal and casteist forces to disrupt unity

Identify the real enemy of the working class and all sections of toiling people – the capitalist system and the politics and forces that promote the system; prepare for the struggle to change this exploitative system

On this May Day CITU raises its banner in support of

International Working Class Solidarity and Unity Against all Exploitation and Oppression